A Few Moments
by dragon of winter nights
Summary: A missing scene from the end of the Ova. What do you do when there's only a few moments left for you to be together? CU FF, HL


This is what happens when I listen to a song too much. () A random one-shot set at the end of the ova, slightly rewriting bits of it because I wrote it from memory, in a hurry, at about two in the morning. It isn't particularly good, either. () but it IS finished, so I thought I might as well post it… In fact, it's sorta rubbish. And clichéd. Forgive me? I was practicing…

Clemi based, small implied F/F and H/L

Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue. Please?

**A Few Moments**

**By Dragon of Winter Nights**

It was over.

The fighting, the confusion, the explanation…. The deities had vanished with a few last words, leaving the three girls with the power to, well, get on with their lives.

Of course, not everything had been sorted out – most of Tokyo had been flattened, and there was still a huge grey castle in place of the Tower. But the hardest parts were over.

Supposedly.

The sun was beginning to go down as the three scrambled across the debris, clambering over the ruins that had once been Tokyo towards the castle that rose in the distance. It was pretty much the only landmark left, and last they knew at least Ferio had been there – going back seemed the only sensible thing to do, as they were now disorientated enough that to find the place they had left Clef would mean searching the entire city. Hopefully he would head there as well, and at least one of them would know what to do now. Clef especially – having placed the spell on the people of Earth, surely he was the one to undo it?

It was hard going. The ground was littered with huge chunks of concrete, broken glass and twisted metal beams. It was more like rock climbing than walking along a street, and more dangerous – the piles of junk were constantly shifting and settling down. It was impossible to see each heap as the building that had stood in its place, and felt like wandering through a strangely apocalyptic dream.

The three girls were moving in a row: Umi first, testing every piece before putting her weight on it, and Fuu just behind, waiting to catch her if something slipped. Hikaru, lightest and most nimble, came last – there was a chance that the others would have dislodged the footing, and she was most likely to get away unscathed.

There was the occasional clatter or smash echoing round the city as things gave way, but apart from that the city was virtually silent… so when they noticed the constant clattering moving ever closer to them, they stopped and waited in silence for the source to show itself.

It was coming straight for them – but what the hell could it be? A new threat? They waited in silence, as the sun dipped lower and began to burn red on the horizon. The dust still floating in the air began to make their eyes sting, now they had stopped moving – it clogged in their throats and threatened to make them sneeze, but they suppressed the reflex harshly, nervous of the sound it would make. Umi reached behind herself blindly, meeting Fuu's hand halfway and holding on to it as the rattling approached.

She glanced backwards, meeting Hikaru's tired eyes briefly before turning again to face the sound… It sounded so very close now! Surely, if the rubbish in front of them wasn't piled quite so high, they would be able to see what… Why didn't she feel worried? A little nervous, yes, but more numb tan anything. Was she that tired? If she had to fight like this, what would happen?

Then Clef came into view around the corner, and looked up, and saw them.

A deep breath was released as they all froze into a strange tableau. Umi stood high on a pile of metal, her friends behind her, looking down and straight into the blue eyes of the man they'd decided to trust despite what he'd done, despite the fact she barely knew him. The man, she suddenly discovered, she'd been worrying about somewhere in the back of her mind. Relief hit her and she trembled slightly, locking her knees in place, holding his gaze silently.

Clef's eyes were as wide as her own, and if she'd been less tired, and more conscious of her friends stood behind her, she might have wondered why he kept staring at her alone. But she was exhausted, and her world was fading around the edges until it focused only on the man below her. Tunnel vision, you might call it.

No one moved for several long moments, as reality began to sink back in, and Umi spent the time studying Clef, a slight frown growing on her face. His skin had been pale enough before, through the strain of the magic he had used and the situation itself, she guessed. Now he was _white_, smudged with dirt and grease, several shallow cuts visible on his face and hands.

He took a step forwards, and his legs did what Umi's had threatened to do, giving way and dumping him to his knees. His eyes, however stayed fixed on her face – even as she leapt down to him, utterly disregarding the danger as she jumped from piece to piece of metal. One bit shifted under her feet, but she caught her balance and went on, leaving the heap to steady itself, much to the relief on Hikaru and Fuu – still stood on the top of it. Crouching down in front of Clef she stretched one arm out, hesitated, then lay her hand on his shoulder. He flinched slightly at the warmth, and his eyes flicked to the hand, then back to her eyes. A touch made it real.

"You're… okay? Umi… you're okay? You made it? Eagle didn't…" He murmured softly, hardly realising he was babbling. His voice was kept quiet and rough edged from all the coughing he had been doing, his throat still aching. Umi smiled, very slightly.

"I'm fine, Clef. Eagle didn't manage to… well, Emeraude stopped him, and they both disappeared." The smile faded. "So did the deities. It's over."

"I know… I heard her, when she woke up, but I was still afraid… you're all okay?" His head turned upwards and she started, half turning, then realising Hikaru and Fuu had come down to stand behind her.

"Fuu answered him, though the question was mostly rhetorical. "We are all fine, yes." She said, with a smile.

Clef's eyes drifted back to Umi and she tightened her grip on his shoulder, emphasizing with the vaguely bewildered look in his eyes. It was all too much, really, to take in. And she hadn't even been aware of Emeraude, or Cephiro and its troubles, until a few days ago. What would it feel like to someone who'd been caught in it for such a long time, now the fighting was over? Now his task was down? Well… she glanced around the still empty city, where nothing moved but the pigeons who were beginning to descend again after the chaos. His task was nearly done.

Then she was looking back at Clef, and he looked so tired, so lost, that she couldn't think of anything to do but lean forwards and wrap her arms around him. His arms went around her back reflexively, holding her tightly as if it was natural. For them to sit like this. Heat began to prickle her eyes so Umi shut them, burying her face in the curve of Clef's neck. His arms were shaking, he was holding her so tightly it almost hurt her, but then it felt good to be held like that, felt comforting, and she was doing the same to him anyway.

Clef pulled in a deep breath and let it go, shakily, closing his eyes for a moment and resting his head on top of Umi's hair. She was leaning further and further against him and so he sat right back, on the dusty ground, letting her curl up on his lap. One of his arms moved up to wrap around her shoulders, absently rubbing calming circles there with his thumb while he concentrated on the warmth of the form pressed against his, trying to forget everything else for a moment, to steady himself.

"Thank the spirits…" he whispered, his breath playing over Umi's hair and setting the topmost strands flying. Umi, hearing his words, couldn't stop the hysterical giggle bubbling up inside her – was he thanking Emeraude, or Eagle? Or _both_? Either way, it was strangely appropriate… and at the same time most empathetically NOT, That moment was, of course, when she remembered Hikaru and Fuu were still around somewhere, and she tried even harder to stifle the now embarrassed laughter, but it fought back, and it was a while before she felt composed enough to pull away from Clef and stand, reaching out a hand to help him up.

All four walked on together – or, in Clef's case, stumbled on. He'd managed to pull a couple of muscles hurrying to the place he'd last seen the battle, and now that he'd found them, his will power wasn't really up to ignoring the pain. Still, it meant he got to walk leaning on Umi, with an arm around her shoulders and hers snug about his waist. He wasn't complaining.

The going was easier now: Clef had left clear tracks in the dust so they had a relatively safe path to take most of the way to the castle. It was quicker, too, which was a good thing; the sun was dipping ever closer towards the horizon, the sky blazing a manic variety of colours as they wandered on, and they really did need light to get through this mess. The sunset seemed to be lasting for hours, however, the sun creeping reluctantly lower. All the dust in the air had played with the light anyway, starting off the changing colours from the city's point of view long before normal, and enhancing the light show once things really started: bright crimson streaks faded into a softer, glowing golden orange shade as the rest of the sky slowly deepened through shades of violet, and still the sun seemed to sink no lower, for which all of them were grateful.

But the journey ended, and they made it to the castle to find Ferio waiting for them, trying to bandage the new cut across his face. He stood to greet them, though he hesitated before offering his hand to Clef – they had been on opposing sides until very recently. To his relief, Clef took his hand and shook it without comment, just a small smile. "Cl… Priest Clef…" he began, stopped, then bowed. As he straightened he thought he saw the smile grow into a true smirk on the Priest's face, just for a moment.

"I guess we're back on the same side again, then."

"Yeah…" Ferio murmured, eyes widening slightly at the roughness in Clef's voice and taking in, for the first time, how he was leaning against Umi. "Ah… Clef? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." He grinned, glancing at Umi. "I just had a small argument with this city… I don't think it likes me much."

"I can't think why." Umi deadpanned, looking around at the destruction. Clef laughed lightly, then pulled a face and coughed. Umi pulled him over to the wall and sat them down so he could catch his breath… and, incidentally, left Fuu without a barrier between herself and the green haired man. Fuu was staring at the ground, now, unsure why she was so nervous – she had been twisting the fabric of her skirt between her hands until it lost its shape. As her fingers moved, however, Ferio reached out and caught hold of her hands, waiting until she looked up at him,

"I can't think what your dress has done to deserve such treatment." He teased her, drawing a smile onto her face. She couldn't meet his eyes for long, though,, glancing back around at Hikaru who had been stood out of the way, feeling more than a little lost, and her thoughts dwelling too much on a black haired swordsman.

"Hikaru?" Fuu called, "Did you meet Ferio? I can't remember, it's all been so confusing…"

"Not properly." She whispered, then shook her head and came forwards to shake Ferio's hand. "I'm Shidou Hikaru."

"Ferio. Pleased to meet you." He hesitated, looking at the two, then turned to glance at Clef. "How long?" He asked, quietly, staring at the other man until he had to look up with a deep sigh.

"About an hour, I guess. I can't be exact…"

"Very well." Clef's head dropped again, and Ferio turned back to the two standing girls. "Would you like to see some of the castle? I can take you on a brief tour for a while – and it's not as if we've got anything else to do at the moment…" They nodded, and he led them inside.

Umi stayed behind with Clef, who was suddenly feeling very, very tired.

He leant against the wall, closing his eyes so he didn't have to meet Umi's look. She understood, he _knew_ she did. They had an hour. Eternity stretching before them, and they had an hour.

"Clef…" Umi sighed, looking round to stare into the dark corridor. "You need to clean those cuts, you've got mud and grease all over yourself. Is there a sink anywhere around here? Kitchen, bathroom?"

"Ah…" He stood, peering around, only too happy to dodge the subject. "I think so. I haven't been inside in so long…" He faced her and shrugged, wincing slightly as the muscles in his left arm protested. "This way, I guess." He said, leading off down one of the side corridors. They walked in a tense silence, side by side.

Sure enough, the fifth door they tried was a bathroom with a sink that worked, though reluctantly. Umi wasn't sure where the water could be coming from, but wasn't curious enough to ask about it. Not with only an hour left.

Clef let her push him down to sit on the edge of the bath while she ripped a piece of lining from her dress, and soaked it in the scalding, hopefully clean, water, using it to sponge away the grime on his face and hands. She was gentle, but the water was hot, and he couldn't help flinching as she washed all the dirt from the cuts. By the time she was on the last one she had to hold his chin still with one hand against his involuntary movements away from her hand.

"That's it." She murmured finally, dropping the rag into the bath and taking a last look at the fine slash across is forehead. Clean, the fine lines were barely noticeable; she doubted they'd scar or anything. His eyes opened slowly, blinking a few times – she realised her hand was still resting on his jawbone, but didn't move it.

"You're done torturing me?" he whispered, voice somehow even deeper and rougher now than before. He was trying to lighten the mood, there was something buried deep in Umi's eyes he couldn't identify, and wasn't sure he wanted to. The attempt failed. She was still gazing down at him, and he was becoming uncomfortable with the light brush of her fingers against his skin, each touch making him shiver slightly. Then she leant forwards, and he froze as her lips breezed over that cut, in a butterfly kiss.

"There." She murmured, blushing and pulling away. "All better."

"Umi…" He reached out blindly as she moved away, hand landing on her hip and stopping her. It was his turn to reach out, using two fingers to turn her head back towards him. He looked up at her as she glanced away, shyly, and struggled to find the words he wanted. In the end he relaxed, a small, crooked smile on his face.

"You know… that's not the only cut I have, Umi. The others hurt as well."

"I… uh… what?" She stammered, looking down at him. He just kept smiling, then attempted to pout, which made her grin for a moment… then his words sank in again, and the smile fell away. Umi hesitated… then leant forwards, and brushed her lips over the smaller cut on his forehead, then the one running down the right side of his face, and the slash to his left cheek… and he turned, ever so slightly, to catch her lips with his own.

It was gentle, and chaste, and brief – even for a first kiss. But as he drew back she followed him, and the second kiss was _not_ particularly chaste, or short. Nor was the third. Or the fourth.

Umi's arms slid around his neck as he stood, his own arms wrapping round her back and pulling her forwards, against him. It wasn't like drowning, not like she'd thought it would be. Instead it felt as if she should be boiling away in the heat of the embrace, but she was still there, and slid one hand into his hair to pull him deeper into the kiss. His lips parted slightly, and she took advantage of it instinctively, swiftly taking over the momentum of this, whatever it was – surely it deserved more than such a tame label as 'kiss'? But there were no other words in her mind, then no words at all, as he moaned softly and clutched the back of her dress with clenched fists, fighting for control over himself as she teased it away from him. Their touch grew more desperate and Umi realised she was crying only when she tasted salt, so wrapped up in him.

Clef drew back with a whispered "I'm sorry" but she tightened her grip instead of letting him go, laying her head on his shoulder and screwing her eyes tightly shut, until her entire world was reduced to the feel of him and the tears flooding over her cheeks. Drawing a deep, shuddering breath, Clef closed his own eyes, and sighed. "I'm sorry" he repeated, brokenly, and felt the violent shake of her head against him.

He stood there, stroking her air gently with one hand and clutching her with the other until she calmed and raised a hand to violently scrub at her eyes.

A hand caught hers, holding it still. "It'll be alright" Clef murmured, brushing the tears away with his other hand.

"No it won't." Umi whispered, her bright, watery eyes gazing up at him pleadingly. "How could it?"

Clef blinked, then smiled: a small, crooked smile which didn't touch his eyes. "I don't know." He replied, voice almost inaudible. "I just want you to feel better."

Umi returned the smile then, before leaning back against his shoulder, sighing as his arms once more wrapped around her. "What are you going to do now? When you get back… _there_… I mean."

"Rebuild" He said, fingers drifting back to the silky length of her hair.

"How?" She whispered. "If there's only the two of you… ?"

"Emeraude… she wished for a new beginning. If we act now, we'll have a chance to revive the planet… and, no, it won't be just Ferio and I." She felt his heavy sigh in the rise and fall of his chest. "There are some people… well, let's just say this wasn't the first time I'd had to use the time-warp spell, though it was the first time on such a scale. Hopefully the only one, as well…."

"Oh, Clef…" She hugged him tighter. "How many?"

"About… two hundred or so, I guess. Normal people – the last village that was left on Cephiro. Eagle's people were coming, we'd all seen what happened to everyone else, and I'd just found the spell… They agreed to, Umi, though they didn't know if they'd ever come out of it. To get them out of Eagle's reach… we knew the souls of the dead were being drawn on, even if we weren't sure who exactly was behind it."

"Doesn't mean the burden was any lighter." She said, wisely. "Or that you weren't going to be lonely, fighting on your own."

"No." He agreed. "Still, it's over now. In about… half an hour, I guess. As soon as I've gone, the people of Earth will be released – I'll break the spell as we transport. They won't know what happened, and you are all going to have to pretend the same, you know."

"I know." She whispered. There was a pause, then… "Doesn't mean I won't be lonely, either."

"Umi… If I could, I'd…"

"I know, but you can't." She pulled back to look at him. "I wish I had the time to know you better, Clef." He began to speak, but she lay a finger over his lips and continued. "Do you remember when Ascot attacked us – when we were separated? I saw that building fall, Clef. I thought you were dead, and I couldn't stop crying… and it was still your voice which gave me the power I needed, to find Selence, for him to accept me."

"I thought you were dead…" She went on, leaning forwards, "and it hurt. More than it should. I barely know you, but it felt as if a part of myself had been torn out. I don't know if I can take that again, Clef, so you'd better promise you're coming back."

"Umi-"

"After Cephiro's up and running, once Tokyo is rebuilt, whatever. I don't care how long it takes, but promise me, if it's possible, you'll come back."

For a long moment, Clef just stared at her, his eyes sad. "You know how little a chance there is, don't you." He said. It wasn't a question, she nodded anyway. Even if everything is rebuilt properly, there's virtually no possibility I'll find a way back. Without Emeraude's power being used to join the two worlds…" Still Umi just watched him, and he smiled that little grin again, but this time it touched his eyes. "Of course, if there ever was to be a way, I'd be back again before I could think about it."

"Good." She pulled his head down again, and there was no more speaking.

A few minutes later Fuu walked n, unnoticed, and froze. Colouring, she span and walked out, pushing Hikaru out of the doorway and closing it behind them. "We'll leave those two alone, okay?" She told the others, and they walked off in search of a different sink.

The sun was finally brushing the horizon as the girls watched the Castle disappear… and the two men with it. Clef's eyes remained watching Umi for as long as possible, but then he was gone and Umi shivered, wrapping her arms around herself. The other two glanced at her, and then each other, all three very quiet.

"It'll work out, Umi." Fuu said, blinking hard. "It has to."

"He promised me he'd come back if it was ever possible. It never will be, but he promised me anyway." Umi smiled through the tears slowly overtaking her again. "Yes, it'll be okay. We had our moments together…"

As the sun finally sank the people of Tokyo began to wander around, wondering what on Earth could have happened to their city, and them. No one noticed the three girls wandering through the chaos, going home at last.

Owari.

Where I got the idea the sun was setting, I have no idea… the song I was listening to was 'Who wants to live forever' by Queen, and this could almost be classed a songfic, it follows that closely. If you got this far... please review? I welcome constructive critiscism. I can't spell the word, but I welcome it... I'll stop babbling now.


End file.
